Critical Care Template
Get your Critical Care paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.6
How to Use the Critical Care Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 7 August, 2026
Submitting to Critical Care goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Critical Care guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
What is the Critical Care Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Critical Care. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Critical Care journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a Crit Care submission:
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Critical Care guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Critical Care guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Critical Care Template include?
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
Steps to Use This Template with SciSpace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The SciSpace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for Crit Care.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Critical Care guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through the journal's submission system.
Critical Care Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | Crit Care requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Research articles: Structured abstract not exceeding 350 words with mandatory sections: Background (context and purpose), Methods (how study was performed and statistical tests), Results (main findings), Conclusions (brief summary and potential implications), and Trial registration (if applicable, with registration number and date). Reports of randomized controlled trials must follow CONSORT extension for abstracts. Minimize abbreviations and do not cite references. Review articles: Structured abstract not exceeding 350 words with background, main body, and short conclusion. Brief Reports: Unstructured abstract not exceeding 250 words, briefly summarizing aim, findings, or purpose. Minimize abbreviations and do not cite references |
| Main text | - the official guidelines do not specify overall word or page limits for the main text of Research, Review, or Brief Report articles |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article |
| References | Vancouver reference style. Examples provided include journal articles with and without page numbers, articles by DOI, journal supplements, and web links/URLs which must be given a reference number and included in the reference list with full title, URL, and access date |
| Peer review | Single-anonymous peer review system (also called single-blind), where reviewers are aware of the names and affiliations of the authors, but the reviewer reports provided to authors are anonymous |
| Submission | submission.nature.com/new-submission/13054/3 |
Quick Tips for Using the Critical Care Template
Read the Critical Care guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Critical Care in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent Crit Care papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Critical Care journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Critical Care guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.
